This past Saturday we had a simulcast from Beth Moore at my church. She informed us that over 190,000 women were either present with her at this church in Indiana or watching from other venues like we were here in Lehigh Acres, FL. She gave us a very encouraging message for women and explained:

Tas Philas – We use the phrase “girlfriends” a lot when we talk about our “girls,” the friends that are close to us, and that it is scriptural.

Luke 15:9 NIV“And when she finds it, she calls her friends [tas philas] and neighbors together and says ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.'”

“In this parable about the lost coin, the greek words tas philas are used to describe the friends who celebrated with her when she found the coin. Tas philas literally means female friends or in today’s terms, girlfriends! Even back then, when the chips were down you called your girlfriends! I love that. So here is a shout out and salute to all my girlfriends, my tas philas… We should make t-shirts : )”

She shared seven principles based on the story of Lydia and how she received God as the first female convert in all of Europe:

1) We are one gathering of many women yearning for God to speak.

2) Jesus changes the story of EVERY women he meets and, based on Luke 1:45 “Blessed is she who believed” (Even the story of a woman, from the city of Lehigh Acres, FL, named Debra Ellis…change the city and name to reflect you today!

3) Jesus wants a woman to know who she is and WHAT she is not. (See Identity Declaration I’m sharing below…print it out and/or share it with others!

4) Sometimes a woman needs a clean sweep to find what she is missing!

5) A woman’s joy is not the same without GIRLFRIENDS to share it. We are not connecting the dots between our joy deficit and our girlfriends…we feel depleted.

6) All of heaven rejoices over a lost woman found.

7) Every woman is well able to share the story of Jesus…speaking of which, watch this video…its such a great, simple message to invite others to church.

Wind Beneath My Wings from the movie Beaches song by Bette Milder – where a privileged rich debutante and a cynical struggling entertainer share a turbulent, but strong childhood friendship over the years.

5) Pray for healthy relationships with other women that are free from: exclusivity (where you are a woman’s ONLY girlfriend), possessiveness, and jealousy).

Love, Joy and Peace, Debra J. Ellis

Reminder AND/OR for those of you just joining us: The purpose of Fast Wednesdays is to draw near to God on this specific day of the week fasting and praying in whatever manner the Holy Spirit is leading you as sisters (and some brothers) in Christ…some have fasted from social media, coffee, or observed a traditional fast with no eating from sunrise to sunset with only liquids for the day, no deserts, etc. I know many of us, for various reasons, participate every week but in different manners. This has still been beneficial and the blog continues to grow!

The key ingredient is that we are doing this together as sisters, of all ages, in the Lord, both chronologically and spiritually in accordance to: A God-Filled Life Titus 2:3-5 “Guide older women into lives of reverence so they end up as neither gossips nor drunks, but models of goodness. By looking at them, the younger women will know how to love their husbands and children, be virtuous and pure, keep a good house, be good wives. We don’t want anyone looking down on God’s Message because of their behavior.” Note: Please share Fast Wednesdays with your friends and/or send me names to add to the distribution list. For now, I will post in three places: email (djf52055@gmail.com), Facebook (Debra Fuller Ellis) and blog in Word Press: https://fastwednesdays.wordpress.com/

From Point 3 above, here’s: 1) Identity Declaration, 2) What does a Woman of God Look Like and 3) Final Commissioning: